PAC-CLI 1.50.1 Release: Enhanced Data Source Support and More

[jordanchodakWork]

New version of the PAC-CLI: 1.50.1

Update your PAC-CLI version by following Microsoft Power Platform CLI - Power Platform | Microsoft Learn

Some of these new features are already included in the documentation. For others that haven't been documented yet, expect updates later this month.

Dataverse Support

The latest release of the PAC-CLI introduces enhanced support for Microsoft Dataverse, providing you with new capabilities for managing data and metadata.

CRUD for Choice & Option Values: You can now perform create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operations on choice and option values within Dataverse entities.

getEntityMetadata: When adding a Dataverse entity as a data source, you gain access to the entity’s metadata. To retrieve this information, locate the getMetadata method in the generated service file.

SharePoint Support

Support for SharePoint as a data source has also been expanded in this release. The update enables you to interact with various column types more effectively.

CRUD on SharePoint Choice Columns, People Columns, and Lookup Columns: When adding a SharePoint list as a data source to an app, you can now retrieve available choices for any lookup column (a column that references another list) and perform full CRUD operations on related items.

getReferencedEntity: To fetch possible values for referenced entities, look for the getReferencedEntity method in the generated service file. Additionally, the generated model file includes strongly typed interfaces for lookup columns, making it easier to work with related data in a type-safe manner.

New Capabilities

GetContext(): A new method, GetContext(), is now available for retrieving context information within your code app. See documentation for what information is available and how to get started: How to: Get context data (preview) - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

Use Connection References in add-data-source: You can now specify connection references when adding a data source to their app, improving ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) by facilitating smoother deployments across environments without the need for manual connection updates.

To specify a connection reference when adding a data source, use the following command:

pac code add-data-source -cr -s

For more details on using connection references, refer to Use a connection reference in a solution with Microsoft Dataverse - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn.

Specify a Log Level When Executing a CLI Command: The PAC-CLI now allows you to set the log level (using the logLevel parameter or the -l shortcut) when running commands. This feature displays detailed logs in the console, aiding in troubleshooting and allowing you to view intermediate steps during execution.

Available log levels include:

• info – General information
• debug – Detailed diagnostic output
• warn – Warnings that may need attention
• error – Errors encountered during execution

Note: Currently, this option is only supported for the add-data-source command. Support for additional commands will be introduced in future updates.

Bug Fixes

The dataSourceInfo value now provides the correct entity set name. This fix resolves a bug where the entity set name in the generated service file was incorrect for Dataverse, which could have resulted in errors such as: Data source not found. With this correction, data retrieval should function as expected.

[afdal-khan]

Version 1.5 extension not available for down on visual studio code

[jordanchodakWork]

Thank you for sharing your feedback. I’ll investigate why this hasn’t updated and follow up here shortly.

We recommend installing the PAC CLI using the .NET tool rather than the VS Code extension, as the .NET version is updated more frequently with the latest bits.

You can find installation instructions here:
Microsoft Power Platform CLI - Power Platform | Microsoft Learn